1. Field of the Invention
The present invention broadly relates to telecommunication devices, and, more particularly, to a compact service node (CSN) capable of supporting a read only printer (ROP).
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern telecommunication networks (e.g., a wireless telephone network, a PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network), etc.) employ complex signaling and signaling protocols. Furthermore, the services provided by commercial telecommunication networks to their subscribers (e.g., residential telephone customers or mobile telephone users) have gradually become more sophisticated and user-friendly. With the support of advanced signaling protocols, the transfer of information among network nodes has resulted in creation of intelligent networking. The term “intelligent networking” may be used for a method for providing and interpreting information within a distributed network. A distributed network, on the other hand, is structured such that the network resources are distributed throughout the geographic area being served by the network. A distributed network is considered to be “intelligent” if the service logic and functionality can occur at the distributed nodes in the network. For example, mobile telecommunications networks (e.g., cellular telephone networks) can be considered distributed and intelligent.
A compact service node (CSN) is an intelligent peripheral (IP) or node in an intelligent network platform. The CSN may be similar to a desktop computer system, but with advanced technical features. A CSN may be a smaller version of an SN (Service Node). A CSN/IP platform may be installed in a telecommunication service provider's (or a telecommunications network operator's) central offices and administrative centers. The CSN/IP platform enables the service provider (or the network operator) to offer its customers advanced features such as, for example, voice-activated dialing, message delivery service, intelligent personal agent, customer privacy management, etc. For example, the message delivery service calls the customer to deliver basic information about calls that have come in. The intelligent personal agent follows a customer's spoken instructions to forward calls to another number, take a message or place a call. Business customers can use the CSN/IP platform to access and update a set of announcements tailored to meet their individual needs automatically and without expensive manual procedures. Furthermore, the CSN/IP platform may support voice, data messaging and multimedia features so that a service provider can quickly combine and integrate wireless, wireline or Internet Service Provider's (ISP's) network and deliver services such as speech recognition, text-to-speech conversion, fax services, and recorded announcements. The CSN/IP platform's support of Internet protocols may enable the platform to bridge voice and data networks. For example, information from the Internet can be retrieved and delivered to anyone on the telephone. Conversely, voice calls and data from the switched network (e.g., the PSTN) can be delivered to emerging data networks (e.g., a wireless data network).
Different manufacturers may provide a different set of features/functionalities as part of their CSN/IP platforms. For example, the CSN/IP platform provided by Lucent Technologies of Murray Hill, New Jersey, USA, may include: (1) One or more compact service nodes or intelligent peripherals that recognize and respond to customer requests for services. The CSN may support all brands of wireline and wireless call-routing switches in a service provider's network; (2) an Intelligent Peripheral (IP) Manager that collects and stores digitized information about services available to each customer of the service provider; and (3) a Service Control Point (SCP) that is an intelligent database server that works in conjunction with the CSN to collect information about calls and tell the IP Manager how to handle each call.
FIG. 1 shows the front view of an exemplary prior art SCP unit 10. The front view shown in FIG. 1 is for the Advantage Model-II SCP manufactured by Lucent Technologies. The SCP 10 in FIG. 1 is shown to include, among other modules, a Power Distribution Unit (PDU), two modem banks—one for “upper” modems and one for “lower” modems, two Fuse Filter units, one or more disk media drives, a group of cooling units, a pair of servers for telecommunication applications, two TS (Telecom Server) hubs, and an ARU (Alarm Relay Unit). A TS hub is a single location for all the communication wiring from Telecom Servers to be terminated at and routed to other locations in the telecommunication network. An alarm relay unit is a small electronic box that collects alarm conditions from various system devices (e.g., CSN's, SCP's, or SN's) and provides an audible alarm tone. Additionally, the SCP 10 in FIG. 1 has two Control Computer Units (CCU's) that are the “brains” of the SCP. The two CCU's are cabled up to a Reliable Control Unit (RCU) that contains hardware that is designed for system maintenance. It is noted that any cabling between various modules of the SCP 10 and from/to the SCP 10 to/from another device are not illustrated in FIG. 1. On the back of the RCU are Distribution Modules or boards (not shown) where cables are plugged into to provide communication to other devices. One of the devices that could be connected to the SCP 10 is an ROP (Read Only Printer). The software supplied by Lucent Technologies with the SCP 10 provides the capability of sending information from the SCP 10 to the ROP (not shown).
An Advantage SN (Service Node) from Lucent Technologies uses the same hardware modules shown in FIG. 1. However, the software for the Advantage SCP is different from the software for the Advantage SN because of different applications the two devices are meant to perform. In any event, the Advantage SN is also capable of supporting the ROP. The UNIX-based software operating the SCP (or the SN) and the hardware path (connecting the ROP to the device) developed by Lucent enables the SCP (or SN) to send information to the attached ROP, thereby allowing a technician or other authorized person to print required data and messages as part of network maintenance and troubleshooting.
However, similar ROP support may not be available for a CSN/IP platform. For example, the CSN/IP platform supplied by Lucent Technologies does not have printer capabilities. It is therefore desirable to configure such a CSN to make it capable of supporting an ROP. It is further desirable to be able to attach an ROP to a CSN so that a user (e.g., a technician in the service provider's network) can print desired messages and data (related to, for example, customer service notifications, error messages, customer usage traffic, etc.) from the CSN to the ROP. An ROP-capable CSN thus provides a print option (in addition to the display option) while servicing and troubleshooting a customer's account, and also facilitates maintenance activities by technical service personnel in the service provider's network.